Spy

Was a decent parody of typical spy films and has a few laughs. Jason Statham was definitely my favourite part, often making fun of characters he has played before. This genuinely made me laugh quite a few times.

Rose Byrne as one of the villains was great as well. Overall the acting was quite good from everyone, nobody ruined any parts of the film with their performances. Some of the cinematography was good, nothing phenomenal though. However, some jokes did fall flat or were just over used. The film does try to parody spy films but ends up sticking to common tropes instead of commenting on them. I would think adding more commentary on these tropes would add to the comedic tone and maybe give more heart to it. But not every film needs to do this, definitely give it a chance, you may be surprised!

The often brilliant Melissa McCarthy is on top of her game as the mousy Susan Cooper, a behind-the-scenes CIA agent who finds herself struggling to prove herself in the field.

The movie is rather similar to Bob Hope movies like My Favorite Brunette in which he found himself taking on a more exciting life he isn't completely prepared for. Like Hope, McCarthy will be incredibly incompetent when that can get the laughs but other times prove herself as able as more stereotypical heroes. (Although unlike most Hope movies, McCarthy plays someone who stars with some level of competence).

The cast is excellent, with Jude Law doing a fine James Bond impression and very funny performances from Miranda Hart as a goofy fellow agent and Peter Serafinowicz as a sleazebag.

There is also a bit of a feminist theme here, with the movie mocking masculine jerks (particularly Jason Statham's insane egotist). There is also some surprisingly solid action, most notably a Jackie-Chan- influenced kitchen fight.

While the movie is funny and well-acted, the plot leaves something to be desired. It holds together most of the way, but towards the end the writers toss logic out the window and don't even really try to justify what's going on.

Some people are complaining that this movie is foul-mouthed. I'm assuming these people live in small towns where Jimmy Stewart runs the local savings and loan and the Beaver is always getting into trouble. I found it all very funny.

In the late 1930s through early 1940s ('38-'40 to be precise), there was a barrage of slick comedies characterized by witty, cheeky, rapid-fire dialogues between characters without so much as a breath between jokes, let alone hold for audience reaction. To me, the pinnacle of this achievement was the pairing of Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, both fast-talking sultans of sarcasm, in films like "Bringing Up Baby", "Holiday" and "The Philadelphia Story". Here, nearly a century later, we revisit that style but ramped up on crack, to the point where, after seeing the movie, I had to google the script to see what I missed while laughing my arse off--and laughing it off all over again.

Let me give you an example. The following exchange between "Ford" (Jason Statham) and "Susan" (Melissa McCarthy) is crammed into the space of probably 10 seconds at most, with Jason firing off his lines like a Chicago Gangster with a cockney accent and Melissa quietly interjecting, unnoticed, barely giving him time to reload before his next strafing.

FORD: You really think you're ready for the field? I once used defibrillators on myself! I put shards of glass in my fn' eye! I've jumped from a high-rise building using only a raincoat as a parachute and broke both legs upon landing; I still had to pretend I was in a fing Cirque du Soleil show! I've swallowed enough microchips and s*** them back out again to make a computer. This arm has been ripped off completely and re-attached ...with THIS fing' arm..!

SUSAN: I don't know that that's possible... I mean medically...

FORD: During the threat of an assassination attempt, I appeared convincingly in front of congress as Barack Obama..!

SUSAN: In blackface? That's not appropriate.

FORD: I watched the woman I love get tossed from a plane ...and hit by another plane mid-air! I drove a car off a freeway on top of a train while it was on fire. Not the car, *I* was on fire..!

SUSAN: Jesus you're intense.

I don't think I need to say much more in my review; if you like that style of banter (not so much banter as jackhammer) comedy, don't miss "Spy". Written and directed by Paul Feig who brought us many episodes of The Office before his big screen breakthrough "Bridesmades" and worthy follow-up "The Heat", here in "Spy" we get the third of his brilliant comedies starring the incomparable Melissa McCarthy. In this case, the script is amped up the most of all with so many hilarious lines that you really have to check out the imdb quotes section afterwards to see what you missed, then watch it again.

The plot? Who cares. Something about spies and nukes and hot Bulgarian villains played by Rose Byrne who really channels her inner Cruella Deville only without the dog skin furs, instead opting to dress, as one character points out, "like a slutty dolphin trainer".

If it's possible, EVERY character steals the show. From Melissa (obviousy) down to the bit part of the villain's blonde male henchman who has only 6 lines (and whom Melissa taunts: "I don't see a man. I see a reject from The Sound of Music.")

So watch this movie while you can. I don't know if witty, snappy, script-driven comedies like this will follow but I'd love to see. In the same way Hepburn/Grant defined the comedic style of the 1940s, or in the same way the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker team defined comedy of the 1980s ("Airplane!", "Top Secret!"), here another 40 years later we get a smart, stylish, characteristic brand of comedy that I think our generation can be proud to laugh hysterically to.

This is hardly the first or last spy parody movie. Some nail it (Johnny English), and some miss badly (the Austin Powers sequels). This one was just plain perfect. There's nothing original, but every cast member - McCarthy especially - nails every part. Comedies like this work best with real characters and unreal plots. Paul Feig clearly gets that. I laughed. A lot.

Spy knows how to put a fun and modern spin on the spy genre in ways the major franchises would struggle to do. The plot is suitably twisty (some predictable & some unexpected) and even though there are occasional gaps between the laughs, it has more than enough to ensure that isn't a major issue.

Melissa McCarthy has been in some subpar comedies but roles like this offer a reminder that she's one of the best at comedy. This role is so different to her previous collaborations with Paul Feig (for the better) and requires a lot since the undercover work means her character is constantly changing.

Jason Statham is the best thing about this and the only downside is that he could be in it a lot more. It's possible he's only this good because he's in small doses to avoid too much of a good thing however, the major takeaway is that Statham is ridiculously gifted at comedy and it's a real crime that he's not utilised it more often.

Paul Feig's direction runs into his usual misstep of letting some scenes overstay their welcome and yet it doesn't derail it, mainly due to the jokes that do land being proper belly laughs. In the action, it's just a little over reliant on slow motion. Also, the music by Theodore Shapiro really nails the generic spy movie score.